Freeport role not yet investigated
From: Carmel Budiardjo, INTERNET:tapol@gn.apc.org
(Note: see the end of this file for a brief bio of Carmel Budiardjo --
this parenthetical remark added by Robert S. Boyer)
To: Steven Feld, 71532,2344
Date: Fri, Nov 24, 1995, 3:22 PM
RE: Freeport role not yet investigated
Note also that the only references to Freeport in the Commission's Report which was made public on 22 September 1995 are as follows: In Point 4, it states that 'armed forces (ABRI) operations against the OPM occurred ... in order to safeguard the security of Freeport'; in Point 8, it states that 'it is necessary to clarify the operational boundaries between the local government, ABRI and Freeport' and in Point 10 it states that 'Freeport which up to the present has operated a mine in the area is naturally responsible for playing a role and resolving local environmental problems, including promoting education, sustaining and developing the local culture and customs and raising the social and economic conditions of the local people'.
The report of the Commission DOES NOT say anywhere that Freeport was not involved in the atrocities.
For the record, we plan to post a translation of the Commission's Report. Earlier, we only posted an agency report of the document. We apolgise for this oversight. Carmel, TAPOL]
Source: Kompas
(Kompas is a leading daily newspaper of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia -- this parenthetical remark added by Robert S. Boyer)
Date: 2 October 1995
Slightly abridged
FREEPORT'S INVOLVEMENT HAS NOT YET BEEN INVESTIGATED
The team of the National Commission for Human Rights has stated that the team has not yet carried out a thorough investigation of the involvement of PT Freeport in the violation of human rights in Timika, which is situated within the concession area of the company's gold and copper mine.
This conclusion is based on opinions gathered by Kompas from deputy chair of the Commission, Marzuki Darusman, and from Clementino dos Reis Amaral, Major-General (ret'd) Soegiri, Bambang W. Soeharto and Asmara Nababan [all members of the team which went to Timika] who spoke to Kompas at the office of the Commission, responding to the press release issued by five NGOs which stated that the Commission should investigate the role of Freeport.
Asmara Nababan said that the findings confirmed by the Commission in the field only went as far as obtaining proof of the human rights violations and did not include any investigation of the involvement of Freeport.
'Take for instance the Freeport bus. We only went as far as finding out who it was who gave the bus driver his instructions. So all we know is who gave him the order,' said Asmara.
He therefore agreed that it was correct to say that the National Commission team which was sent to Timika, Hagani and Tembagapura only half completed its task. 'If we really want to complete the job, we would also have to extend our investigations to answering the questions raised in the statement issued by the five NGOs,' he said.
But, according to Bambang W. Suharto, efforts to obtain evidence of Freeport's involvement in the human rights violations in the area of its concession would involve interrogations. 'And if anyone wants to get proof of Freeport's involvement, that could only be done by the Police who have powers to undertake interrogations,' he said.
Note appended by Robert S. Boyer:
The following information is attached to indicate that the name "Carmel Budiardjo" is to be spoken with respect.
Right Livelihood Award for Budiardjo
TAPOL Report, 4 October 1995
The Right Livelihood Award Foundation today announced the names of the four recipients of the 1995 Right Livelihood Award. They include Carmel Budiardjo of TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign.
The citation states that Carmel "has found, in spite of the repression suffered by her, her husband and her co-prisoners at the hands of the Indonesian Government, the energy and dedication to campaign for over twenty years for Indonesian political prisoners and the oppressed and slaughtered people of East Timor. The Jury honours her for 'holding the Indonesian Government to account for its actions and upholding the universality of fundamental human rights'". The other recipients of the Award which comes along with US$250,000, shared between the four, are: The Serb Civic Council of Bosnia-Herzegoneva which "maintains support for a humane, multi-ethnic, democratic Bosnia-Herzegovena"; Andras Biro and the Hungarian Foundation for Self-Reliance for "resolute defence of Hungary's Roma (gipsy) minority" and Sulak Sivaraksa "for his vision, activism and spiritual commitment in the quest for a development process that is rooted in democracy, justice and cultural integrity".
The Right Livelihood Award states in its Press Release that the Awards are often referred to as 'the Alternative Nobel Prize'. "They were introduced in 1980 'to honour and support those offering practical and examplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today'. The idea came from Jakob von Uexkull, a Swedish-German philatelic expert who sold his valuable postage stamps to provide the original endowment. Alfred Nobel had wanted to honour those whose work 'brought the greatest benefit to humanity'. But von Uexhull felt that the Nobel Prizes have tended to ignore much work and knowledge vital for the survival of humankind. The Awards are traditionally present in the Swedish Parliament in the days before the Nobel Prize presentations."
A Press Conference with the recipients will be held in Stockholm on December 6th, 1995.
Carmel Budiardjo's memoirs of her three years as a political prisoner in Indonesia, from 1968 till 1971, entitled "Surviving Indonesia's Gulag: A Western Woman Tells Her Story", will be published by CASSELL in January 1996.